Ohio Sports Betting Tax Doubled Laws & Regulations

Ohio Sportsbooks Feel the Pinch as Tax Rate Doubled

By Lisa Spencer Senior Editor Updated: 15 July 2023

Lisa Spencer Senior Editor

As a Senior Editor at Betting.US, Lisa Spencer is a valuable member of our expert team. With a Master’s degree in Applied Mathematics, Lisa is adept in gambling theory and analyzing odds. She contributes by writing online sportsbook reviews and finding competitive markets to help our readers make an informed choice.

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It was recently revealed that Ohio lawmakers were debating doubling the tax rate on sports betting from 10 percent to 20 percent.

A decision on this has now been made, with lawmakers agreeing that the tax rate should be hiked. A budget deal was reached last week, and the new tax rate is for the fiscal year starting on July 1. However, the bill does not come into play until 90 days after being signed by the state governor.

According to reports, one of the reasons behind the increased tax rate is to try and curb sports betting advertising in the state. Governor Mike DeWine has apparently highlighted what he described as excessive sports betting advertising in the state. It is believed that raising the tax rate will help to bring down this high level of advertising.

This is not a view that is taken by all officials, with Rep. Bill Seitz talking about the decision in a recent interview.

He said he ‘did not buy’ the argument by the governor. He said that DeWine was basically saying:

Look at how much money these folks are spending on advertising. They’re trying to get people hooked on sports gaming and mobile apps. We need to curb the excessive advertising by the mobile app licensees, and how better to do that than double the tax rate.

The sports betting market in Ohio launched in January of this year. This is the first time that sports betting taxes have been increased by a state.

Encouraging Better Compliance from Operators

It was further claimed by those supporting the tax increase that it is all part of an overall plan to improve compliance among sports betting operators when it comes to the rules.

This comes after a number of breaches were discovered during the early months of sports betting this year, which resulted in a variety of major operators receiving financial penalties. DraftKings, BetMGM, and Caesars were fined for advertising ‘risk-free’ bets, while Penn and DraftKings were fined for targeting underage people and college students with their ads.

Seitz Not Upset by Advertising Levels

Seitz was one of those involved with originally creating the sports betting bill in Ohio. He has already made it clear that he disagrees with the sports betting tax hike – and the reasons given for the tax increase.

He said that he had no problem with the level of sports betting advertising that had taken place since the market launched earlier this year. Seitz added that advertising was necessary because it was a brand-new product being advertised, and sportsbook operators had to make people aware of what they had to offer.

Seitz also said that it had originally been decided to keep the sports betting tax rate at 10 percent specifically so that operators would be able to advertise. He said that he was one of the ones who worked on this original concept, as it would help to encourage sports fans to stop using illegal sportsbooks and move over to regulated ones.